


All Apologies

by dollylux



Category: Football RPF
Genre: Apologies, Bullying, Childhood Trauma, Chubby Nando, M/M, Second Chances
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-17
Updated: 2014-06-17
Packaged: 2018-02-05 00:10:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,818
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1798384
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dollylux/pseuds/dollylux
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Fernando used to be a chubs in school. Sergio was his tormentor. But Fernando grew up nicely, and Sergio realizes the error of his ways.</p>
            </blockquote>





	All Apologies

Fernando wasn't exactly _fat_. He was chubby. Husky, as his mother so fondly put it. His shirts were always just a little too tight in all the wrong places, his cheeks were always just a bit too puffy (and a bit too red from exertion in gym class), his tummy more of a belly. And not only was he a chubby kid, but also an awkward one, an overly sensitive one who was not quick to laugh at himself.

And that was the precise reason that Fernando had hated school, had hated every single moment of it, hated the snickers in the hallway and the whispered taunts during class and especially the sidelong stares he got during lunch, everyone making note of every single thing he piled on his tray (all of it which, at the end, he was too nervous to eat in front of everyone anyway). He had few friends, all of them of the fairweather sort, all of them quick to turn on him when the going got tough and they saw any tiny "in" with the more popular kids.

The most popular boy of all was a spice of a child named Sergio Ramos. He had a following that grew more and more with each passing year, with each summer that molded him into a somehow more handsome creature. His following orbited around him like moons, boys and girls alike, all of them swooning and fawning and obsessing over how oh how they could capture any moment of Sergio's attention. But Sergio was too concerned with the mirror in his locker to notice anyone for more than a mere moment.

Except Fernando.

Fernando was his pet project. Fernando made his day better, especially those days when he could swipe his lunch money from him on top of making the paler boy cry. He would sneer at him that he shouldn't be eating lunch anyway, and that maybe he should just run away crying instead of walking because running burned more calories. Sergio's gaggle of friends would all chirrup and roar with laughter at Fernando's reactions which were always unfiltered and heartbreaking, both of which brought the fire out in Sergio's eyes. Sergio always felt exceptionally beautiful in those moments when he was acutely aware of how much better he was than Fernando. And when he made Fernando realize it even more.

Graduation could not have come soon enough for Fernando.

 

-

Fernando stepped out of the bookstore, a coffee captured in his long fingers, a tailored peacoat fitted snugly around his small waist and the soft flare of his hips. A deep crimson scarf kept the cold away from his neck and warmed his face as he walked down the street at a leisure pace, always enjoying every moment of his days off of work, when he could think about anything but running a magazine. When someone else could take the reins for a bit. He tightened his grip on his new books, a content smile on his face. He was so busy daydreaming about the football game that awaited him at home on his television that he nearly ran face-first into someone just his height. The surprise caused a graceless stumble but he remained upright for the most part. His eyes were liquid chocolate and massive with apology. But it froze on the pink of his lips, died in his throat, when he saw who had broken his stride.

Sergio Ramos really did get more beautiful with each passing year, and graduation from high school certainly hadn't stopped that. He was astoundingly beautiful now, almost terrifyingly so. He was wearing a knee-length leather coat that hugged him like silk, his hair longer than in high school, softer somehow. Everything about him was softer, more exaggerated, more perfect. Fernando wanted to run.

Sergio could only blink in confusion for a few mindless seconds, immediately recognizing the boy in front of him but his instant attraction to him pushed all other thoughts to the back of his mind. His full mouth opened and closed almost cartoonishly as he stared. It was something about those eyes, something tragic and familiar and delicious, reminding him of his mother's baking during the holidays, all warmth and spice and home. He had loved those eyes before, had hated them, had pitied them, had sought them out. The answer came to him out of nowhere, forcing him to take a step back, forcing him to look this boy up and down and again and then once more, words caught in his throat until he finally sputtered one out.

"... F-Fernando?"

Fernando gave a quick bark of laughter at Sergio's expression, a blush rushing to his cheeks, such a Pavlovian response to Sergio, right along with his heart racing in his chest, his fight or flight instinct drumming right below the surface of his skin. He felt nine-years-old all over again. He gave Sergio a thin-lipped smile, his grip tightening on his coffee.

"Hello, Sergio. Long time, no see."

Sergio shook his head, the mane of his hair slipping over one shoulder and then the other with it. He stepped forward again, with interest this time. He searched Fernando's eyes, head still shaking with disbelief.

"Jesus Christ, you look incredible."

Somehow Fernando blushed even more, averting his eyes to look down at Sergio's shoes which looked new, leather, designer. Perfect.

He shrugged, just a lift of one shoulder, one that made Sergio wild with his attraction, made it flare up with an intensity that drove him to lift his hand, to rest it on Fernando's burning cheek. The touch made Fernando's eyes shoot up to meet Sergio's, amazed at the pure want he saw there, emboldened by it, redeemed by it.

"You wanna come up to my apartment? I live just right here." Fernando motioned up to the building they were standing in front of, a luxury apartment building that impressed Sergio immediately. Fernando thought he was dreaming. Or having a nightmare, he wasn't sure which just yet.

"...Yeah. Yeah, s-sure."

-

Sergio sat in the chair next to the couch Fernando would be sitting on once he returned from the kitchen. He brought Sergio a beer and one for himself. Sergio took it with a meek smile and a nod of thanks. Fernando sprawled himself out on his couch, stripped down to just his jeans and t-shirt now, one that revealed just how tiny he was, just how chiseled, just how fucking sexy. Sergio gulped down half his beer with one lift of the bottle.

"So, I didn't know that you still live in Madrid. I haven't really kept touch with anyone from school."

Fernando took a drink while he waited for Sergio to reply. He luxuriated in the way Sergio's eyes swept over his body, savored the way he seemed to drink him up. He stretched out even more, just a little, maybe showing off just slightly, maybe letting his shirt pull up just enough to reveal a slip of skin, a hipbone. He almost smirked when Sergio squirmed in his seat.

"Yeah, I... I'm doing some modeling. And I'm going to school, business school, in the evenings. How about you?"

"Oh, you know. Just running a magazine. _Pista_ , have you heard of it?"

This was a good test and Fernando knew it. He paid careful attention to Sergio's face, to his eyes, the muscles around his mouth. He almost grinned in satisfaction when Sergio practically gaped at him, his eyes bigger than he had ever seen them.

"The... the gay fashion magazine? That's like... one of the biggest magazines in the country!"

Fernando only shrugged, his smile hidden inside of the mouth of his bottle of beer. They both drank quietly, the texture and mood of the room changing delicately. Fernando allowed himself to search Sergio's eyes, a luxury he'd never had before today. His hands shook slightly with his nerves but it was hidden with his grip on the bottle. They both knew the other was gay now. The air was warmer, definitely.

"So, listen, Fernando..." Sergio paused, took a deep breath. He leaned forward, elbows balanced on his knees, his eyes dark with emotion. "I want to apologize for how I used to treat you. I was... a horrible person. Horrible. I don't know why you never punched me in the face."

Another shrug, another pained smile. Fernando's bottle was empty. He set it on the floor and leaned forward as well.

"I knew you were probably hurting as much as I was. You had to get it out somehow, right?"

Sergio just stared at him in amazement, lips slightly parted. He shook his head slowly.

"How could you ever think that way? How... How could you ever have cared what _I_ was feeling?"

Sergio got up then, cross the small space between them and sat down beside Fernando. He faced him completely, his bottle forgotten on the coffee table. Fernando turned to him, his eyes softening when he felt Sergio's hand on his face again. He closed his eyes, a dull ache setting up in his heart, the wall he had built up around it over so many years starting to crumble, to chip away bit by bit. Fernando lowered his head, the silk of his skin sliding along Sergio's palm. His fingertips flirted along the side of his jaw, the tendrils of honey blonde hair. His thumb stroked his cheek, warming the skin beneath it, trying to draw out some more freckles, maybe.

"It doesn't matter now. I've moved past it, you've grown up. It doesn't matter anymore, Sergio." He opened his eyes, drawing a so-soft gasp from Sergio at the shock of their beauty, of their sleepy, boyishly wide warmth. His eyes were warm cookies on Christmas Eve. Cinnamon, cocoa, nutmeg.

Sergio kept his eyes open as he kissed him so he could see Fernando's from so close. Fernando trembled immediately under his touch, still that scared, hurting boy that Sergio had torn down all those years ago, for so many years. Fernando felt innately unworthy of this, of any of Sergio's attention. Sergio licked softly into Fernando's mouth, kissing him with such tenderness that it lulled him, made him feel warm all over. Sergio ended the kiss with a final, small one but kept their mouths together, their noses, complete opposites in appearance, ghosting each other.

"Let me make it up to you, all of it. Let me..." Sergio breathed the words across Fernando's mouth, his hand pushing slowly up into his hair. He kissed his bottom lip and then the dip of skin just below his mouth, earning a sigh from Fernando's slightly swollen lips. Fernando could only nod his response, his heart flying, his skin taken over with a slow fire.

Fernando had waited for many years for an apology from Sergio, and Sergio gave him the best apologies he had ever received.


End file.
